We have a Tin Cat live trap for the mice, and it was next door for a few days in case any mice had moved in over there, but no mice were caught. We moved it back to our house, and caught 10 mice in 1 1/2 days. It's not as if we have food lying around for them, and they don't appear to spend any time in the kitchen.

Mr. Troutbend found a big hole in the foundation of the house and filled it with spray foam, but that seemed to increase the number of mice in the trap. Maybe they are just passing through and that was how they were getting out of the house. This morning's batch was four cute little half-grown ones that are now swimming in the river headed for the Gulf of Mexico if the fish let them get that far.

Several of the mice we've released have made it to shore. We should be marking them with a squirt of spray paint so we can tell if they have been here before.

The new Brown Palace guests are here, and the mom looks just like she sounded on the phone: a character. The children 13, 9, and 7 are really nice kids. Quackers loves them. We had to shut him up in the garage while they were unpacking their car because he kept following the kids around plucking at their clothes, particularly the older boy. We suspect Quackers thinks this is his birth family come to take him back home, and we are going to have to watch out that he doesn't pester those kids every time they come outside.



This is a Rufous hummingbird. They are orange instead of green with a brilliant orange throat, and have a feisty, territorial personality. They guard the feeders zealously, chasing off all the other birds who approach. Fortunately, they stay only a month.





Another hummingbird breed here is the Calliope, and we are at the edge of their range so see very few of them. They are 2/3 the size of the broadtails, and make a soft buzzing sound when they fly. Their throat is striped red.



The calliope is very shy, the other birds barely tolerate him, and it took me a long time the other day to get a picture.